What is the difference between Artist and Student grade paints?
• Artist grade, such as Gamblin Artists Colors • Traditional student grade, such as Gamblin Art Sketching Oils • Economy grade, like all the brands that weigh very little and cost even less. Both artist grade and traditional student grade are made by packing fluid oil with pigment to get the desired stiffness of paste. The difference between them is that traditional student grade has pigment taken out and replaced with extenders. This lowers the price, tinting strength, and opacity. But the two types share the quality of raw materials. Both of these types of paints have been with us throughout the history of oil painting. (The apprentices of the old masters would use paint made the way our Sketching oils are made.) Economy types of oils have only been sold in art supply stores since the late 1970’s when inflationary pressures caused paints to go up dramatically in price. They are made using the tools of modern paint chemistry. The binder is gelled before pigments and extenders are adde
